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SmugMug Grabs Flickr

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akmc_in_au
 
Posts: 954

SmugMug Grabs Flickr

Post Sat Apr 21, 2018 8:35 am


This is interesting... having been with both I can say that Flickr (which I used to hate with a passion, but my views changed as the site did) is streets ahead of SmugMug (which I was with for a year but came to dislike, not least because it's far too "cliquey"):

We’re excited to announce that Flickr has agreed to be acquired by SmugMug, the photography platform dedicated to visual storytellers.

SmugMug has a long history of empowering people who love photography and who want to improve their craft, making them a perfect fit for Flickr and our creative community. With SmugMug, we’ll continue to focus on you, the Flickr members who inspire us all with your work.

Nothing will change immediately with regard to your Flickr account. You will still access Flickr with your current login credentials and you will have the same Flickr experience as you do now. We will continue to work to make your Flickr experience even better.

We think you are going to love Flickr under SmugMug ownership, but you can choose to not have your Flickr account and data transferred to SmugMug until May 25, 2018. If you want to keep your Flickr account and data from being transferred, you must go to your Flickr account to download the photos and videos you want to keep, then delete your account from your Account Settings by May 25, 2018.

If you do not delete your account by May 25, 2018, your Flickr account and data will transfer to SmugMug and will be governed by SmugMug’s Terms and Privacy Policy.


At a guess, Yahoo and later Verizon (who bought it with a bundle of Yahoo's assets last year) wasn't making money from it any more (if they ever did). It consolidates the photo market by turning two big chunks into one.

kstuebin
 
Posts: 1541

Re: SmugMug Grabs Flickr

Post Sun Apr 22, 2018 10:08 am


I got an email from them. This is the relevant part for those who have photos on Flickr.

"We think you are going to love Flickr under SmugMug ownership, but you can choose to not have your Flickr account and data transferred to SmugMug until May 25, 2018. If you want to keep your Flickr account and data from being transferred, you must go to your Flickr account to download the photos and videos you want to keep, then delete your account from your Account Settings by May 25, 2018."

akmc_in_au
 
Posts: 954

Re: SmugMug Grabs Flickr

Post Sun Apr 22, 2018 10:25 am


kstuebin wrote:I got an email from them. This is the relevant part for those who have photos on Flickr.

"We think you are going to love Flickr under SmugMug ownership, but you can choose to not have your Flickr account and data transferred to SmugMug until May 25, 2018. If you want to keep your Flickr account and data from being transferred, you must go to your Flickr account to download the photos and videos you want to keep, then delete your account from your Account Settings by May 25, 2018."


Good point, but it's only an issue if you have concerns about SmugMug getting access to your content. There will still be the option to delete them later than that, it's just that they'll be deleted from SmugMug servers, not Flickr ones. I don't think that's a great concern; while I really don't like the way SmugMug operates, I don't think that they're an unethical organisation; they aren't the types to try to claim copyright to people's images and sell them, for instance.

However the part that I'd be more concerned about if I had a free account with Flickr is that SmugMug has always had a "pay to play" philosophy. As in, a relentless pay to play policy. You can't even do a search for photos on SmugMug without having a member account, which is why I found that my hit counts on SmugMug were pathetic compared to even PBase... which were never great, but this was before PBase's fell off a cliff.

A great deal of effort has gone into reassuring Flickr members that the two sites will continue, and I believe that they will... in the short term. In the longer term it would not make sense for SmugMug to be running two parallel sets of web infrastructure and web design, nor do free accounts sit with their existing philosophy. Smug is a family owned business and they don't have pockets deep enough to support that many freebies and that much duplication. (And if advertising on free accounts was turning a profit, Yahoo would not have sold it to Verizon.) My guess is that once all the ructions from the move have settled down there will be the "Great news!" that Flickr and SmugMug will be "better together!" and the process to merge the sites into a single infrastructure (probably SmugMug's) will begin.

sulman
 
Posts: 27

Re: SmugMug Grabs Flickr

Post Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:33 pm


They're very different sites, though.

I like Flickr's bazaar vibe, a lot of people contribute outside of the hobbyist and pro crowd. Smugmug is a little like 500px in that it's supposed to be a portfolio site.

It's possible they may run Flickr as an advertising and data-driven outlet.

jypsee
 
Posts: 1247

Re: SmugMug Grabs Flickr

Post Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:52 pm


I'm really pissed off about this buyout. After finally committing to Flickr and getting my photos organized...this happens. According to the Flickr blog there won't be much change in the way Flickr looks, and I can go back to a pro account. But, this just feels crappy and uncertain.
Here's the Flickr-smugmug merger FAQ
https://blog.flickr.net/en/2018/04/20/t ... lickr-faq/

amoxtli
 
Posts: 3296
Location: San Diego, California

Re: SmugMug Grabs Flickr

Post Wed Apr 25, 2018 1:43 am


From: "Flickr agrees to be acquired by SmugMug – Q&A"

"What’s going to happen to my Flickr account?
At present, nothing."

Sounds reassuring...
Walter Otto Koenig Architectural Photography: http://www.wokoenig.net

General Photography: http://www.wokoenig.com

Pacific Photographic Society: http://www.pacificphoto.net


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